Cherry Pickings

i would say, 'an outstanding piece of literature' is simply that which is liked by a sufficient number of people who feel themselves and whom others feel are qualified to judge 'literature'. but, nuts and bolts answer is that there are a small number of editors on this site whose job it is to make cherry picks based on their personal tastes and literary experience.

Hi Yasmin, As the chief cherry picker I guess it's down to me to answer your question. Cherries are awarded in order to flag up the good stuff to readers and to indicate where we feel that a writer has taken a significant step forward. They are not a pure indicator of ability, they are inevitably subjective and they are therefore, at times, a matter of taste. Your own work is mainly poetry, it's clearly written by a young person and it shows some promise. My feeling about it is that you haven't yet written a really good piece on here but if there's one or two poems in particular that you feel merit further attention then do feel free to email me and I'll send you back a criticism of them - privately, so that the whole site doesn't get to pick them over! I hope that helps. Tony

Hi Jazmin, Just to add something to the mix, I have received a few cherries, but my stuff has been read a lot less times than yours, so cp'd or not your poems are obviously well received. Kheldar

Hi Jazmin. Keep at it, keep going, listen to feedback and if you agree with it use it to improve, but mostly just keep writing, it's like a muscle if you use it it gets stronger. I've had my share of cherries and each one is an honour and something to be proud of. You might have to do a little bit more work before you get your first one, but just think how good it will feel when you do.

Wise words from Nathan - thankyou.